Customer Reviews

First Alert 2087F Waterproof 1 Hour Fire Safe with Combination Lock, 0.94 Cubic Foot, Gray

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This safe is anything but safe!

First of all, let me say it looked like the shipper dropped the box during transit. Landing on a corner. When I opened the box I was immediately aware there was a problem.

The door is made of a plastic material filled with fireproofing material which was leaking out of a split seam in the outer plastic material. The seem is visible all the way around the door of the safe.

If someone intended on damaging this unit it would be extremely easy to do so. They could use a screwdriver to pry the outer plastic apart and you would have a mess on your hands.

This unit was returned for full refund and I purchased an all steel fireproof safe from another company. Cost for new was only slightly higher and I have double the capacity and all steel construction.

If weight is critical and you don't mind poor quality construction, buy the Honeywell safe.

This safe would not open using either the combination lock or the key. We called Honeywell to problem solve. We were told to use a "butter knife" to break the seal. It didn't work. I ordered a replacement and five days after receiving the original item it finally opened. I was thankfully able to cancel the delivery of the new safe. Since that time the safe opens easily. Another issue is the strong chemical smell in the safe. It is necessary to air it out for at least a week to minimize the odor.

Yes mine also came with a dent in the corner. You can't bolt this down so it isn't the safest safe. Find something else.

I was fortunate to get the unit undamaged (unlike many other reviewers). However, there are two significant issues with this safe.

First, it should NOT be advertised as "anti-theft". It can not be bolted to a floor like most other brands, meaning that the thief simply has to pick it up and walk away with it. Yes, it's heavy, but the UPS man lifted it out of his truck, I carried it in the house, etc.

Secondly, the combination instructions are (as many users have pointed out) quite confusing, and different in the book and on the sticker. I did get it after a couple of tries, but now use only the key to open it.

One other observation. I had stored some papers in the safe without opening it for a number of months. When I opened the safe, the documents were actually damp and starting to mildew. I don't see how any humidity in the air when I closed it could have done that. Perhaps the "water proof" aspects of this safe cause an issue with trapping any moisture that happens to be present. Anyway, I collected some silica gel packets and placed them in the safe... hopefully that will prevent a repeat problem.

This safe arrived in good condition with a large amount of packing foam around it, and it opened just fine. I left it open to air out for a couple weeks to let all the plastic fumes and stuff die down (I'm storing some photo negatives).

The instructions are slightly inconsistent with regards to how many "turns" for each number, and whether the first turn counts or whether it means full rotations, and in one case an insert to the instruction manual had different counts than the combination sticker that came on the safe. I did what the sticker said and it works. On a scale of "bad manuals for China-made products" I'd give this a 7, 10 being "good" and 1 being "makes no sense at all."

I'm not about to light my house on fire to test this, so cross your fingers. The seal seems solid enough. Here's hoping I never find out.

This safe is mainly made of plastic, but the combination lock, 4 locking bolts and the internal gears (sounds like) are heavy-duty metal. There is a generous amount of room inside, unless you have a great deal of papers and other valuables to protect. I tried following the directions to open the safe door via the dial, but I could not until I found some better directions further back in the manual. I was able to open the safe. I memorized the combination, then practiced over and over again. After 1 day, I was able to open the safe every time, by memory. I can get into the safe, using the dial, in about 20 seconds. Read the directions. I would only use the keys in an emergency. If you do not learn how to use the combination and you should lose the keys, you will be locked out. Learn the combination and put the keys in a safe place away from the safe, not in the safe by any means. I recommend this safe; it is well-built.

I bought this safe at Lowe's for a great price 108.00$, so no shipping hassels and no damage. It took a couple of times to understand the combination order to be able to open the safe, but I got it and it worked.

The most stark thing I noted though, was that after some practice I could open the safe without looking at the number dial. I just used the feel of the 'clicks' and 'stops' and understood the number of turns one needs to make in certain directions to open the safe. I have never owned a safe before and have never 'cracked' a safe before. I was amazed at how easy it was to learn to open it!! My concern is a burgler who only knows the instructions on page 2 of the 'Operation and Installation Guide' (which can be viewed online) and uses a little patience can be inside of one of these fairly quickly. With practice I have opened this one in about 15 seconds, without looking at the numbers. I have not tried to open a like safe with a different combination, but I feel that if given the opportunity I could actually open it. If you have the opportunity, try it on a safe of this brand and model.

1. I found there is some play in the numbers, one does not need to be exact when hitting a 'click' or 'dip', it just requires that you are close to it.
2. KEY POINT: Understand the minimum number of complete rotations one must make in between numbers.
3. Once past the minimum rotations feel and listen for the 'click', 'dip', or slight 'stop'.
3. The last number is the easiest to find. It seems as if there is a sloping hole that the dial drops into.

I do not write this so that burglers may know how to open your safe, but that you may know and try it for yourself to see that it is rather easy.
I am going to return this safe and take more time in choosing my next one. I bought a safe to protect my valuables and I absolutely do not feel that this one does the job of safely securing them. First Alert needs to to much better than this!!

The safe is nice. We can't open it because the combination won't work. We even called the company and it was the same combination as on the safe. Still won't open. We just use the key.

The outside shipping box was a little damaged, but I opened it while the delivery guy was there and the inside box containing the safe was undamaged so everything seemed fine.
Of course, it's somewhat hard to really test a "one-hour fire water proof" safe, but it seems decent. Note that the safe itself is definitely heavy -- not something easy to pull outside in the event of a fire, so you're definitely counting on it working :)

The product shipped damaged and is probably no longer water or fireproof. The combination is hard to use, so don't expect quick access. I lost the instructions and could not find the correct product documentation on Honeywell's website. I had to use another model and do many trials before figuring out the direction and # of passes.